Why PS3 doesn't need a Blu-Ray

[hurt911gen]

Everyone needs to read this article (most of you already did);)

http://www.gamesfirst.com/?id=1132

Do you really need 25 gigs for a next-gen game?

[vahnx]

I didn't read your article but I agree with your statement. Using Blue-Ray just made the PS3 more expensive than the 360 at launch, and they could fit enough data for next gen gaming on HD-DVD's. But if they needed the extra space it's still probably cheaper going with 3-4 DVD Disks VS 1 Blue-Ray. Does Sony really use all the storage on each of their PS3 games, or is all the space made up of hidden unlockables the programmers spent hours of extra programming to do which no one really cares about unlocking?

[mormonrage]

Me, upon purchasing my first 4 GB hard drive: "Damn, how am I ever gonna fill up four freaking gigabytes?"

The system will be around for 6-7 years. Who knows what may develop in that time? I don't understand being perturbed because Blu-Ray discs have higher capacity. That's like complaining that your dick is too big. Which reminds me...

[hurt911gen]

2mormonrage

on your comment, please follow my link. you won't need 25 gigs. at least not for this generation.

[ryudo]

I remember in 2001 on The Screen Savers a guy called in wanting a 80GB HDD for his PS and Leo and Pat were just like WHAT!? because the biggest they knew of at that time was like 75GB and they asked him what does he need all that space for...flash forward end 2006 and I have a 320GB HDD and I feel it's decent but you can now buy a terabyte HDD these days.


Back in 1999 when Dreamcast was about to launch people were amazed at the size of the Dreamcast disc capacity 1gb....one year later PS2 with DVD 4GB discs.

[hurt911gen]

Pulling some stats:

" * Average for 2001: 1.81 gigs (21% of disc)
* Average for 2002: 2.17 gigs (25% of disc)
* Average for 2003: 2.47 gigs (29% of disc)
* Average for 2005: 3.20 gigs (37% of disc)


Total size increase between 2001 and 2005 was: 77%


The largest known U.S. released Xbox game on our list was RalliSport Challenge 2 (released in May of 2004) at 6.19 gigs, and used 72% of the Xbox DVD9 capacity. On the list of games released for the Xbox that we were able to identify sizes for, only 26 out of over nearly 800 games used more than half of the DVD9 capacity. That's about 3% of Xbox titles."

"...Over the course of its life, the size of the average Xbox title increased by 77%. If the Xbox 360 size increases at the same rate, and the four 360 titles are representative of the whole, we can expect the average Xbox 360 title in 4 or 5 years to be around 7.40 gigs, and to occupy about 87% of the disc's capacity."

Some 360 games:

# Condemned: 3.9 GB
# Madden 06 NFL: 3.3 GB
# Dead or Alive 4: 5 GB
# NBA 06: 4.5 GB

Average: 4.18 GB or 49% of the DVD9 capacity.

[hurt911gen]

"...Far Cry is substantially better than Azurik in terms of graphics, A.I., and gameplay, it's only about 500 megabytes larger in file size. In terms of the DVD9 disc, 500 megabytes only claims an additional 6% of the medium's storage capacity...

...Far Cry is not the only title to see this sort of limited growth. In fact, as programmers optimize code, it's not uncommon for programs to shrink. The original MechAssualt was 3.42 gigabytes, but MechAssualt 2 was only 2.29, a nearly 33% reduction in size. Yet MechAssualt II is considered a better looking game. Grand Theft Auto III is a paltry 733 megabytes, compared to Grand Theft Auto Vice City's still paltry 1.2 gigs. Silent Hill 2 clocked in at 4.88 gigs. It's sequel, Silent Hill 4, is only 3.16 gigabytes.

In the case of Silent Hill, the original game is 53% larger than its equally complex sequel, which runs contrary to the idea that games will grow larger over time..."

[mormonrage]

I read the link--in fact, I read it several months ago when people were first discussing this. My statement still stands. No one knows how things are going to develop over the next 6-7 years--and, even if the capacity is never needed, what's the problem with having it available? I don't buy the argument that it will somehow encourage developers to be lazy or sloppy.

PS3 doesn't need Blu-Ray. Fine. But it has it, and I'm glad it does.

[bob8779]

The blue ray is for movies. and i was happy to pay $550.00 for my ps3 because blueray players are $800 to $1000 in canada. and in the future if they use the space for games it will be a nice bonus.

[xibalba]

Hmm could make some really good and long RPGs with what is it 25gb discs.


The PS3 does need the Blu-Ray how else you gonna play the games and movies without out a disc drive. :)

[slick98gtp]

Blue Ray...... hummm anyone remember BETA vs VHS war. Yes Beta was better in overall quality but VHS was affordable for the masses.

Yes granted Blue Ray's Quality & Capacity is there but how many people are actually gonna spend $699.00 CND for PS3 to get Blue Ray Player AND buy a 50"+ 1080p TV ($5000.00 to $10,000.00 Plasma) to take full advantage of it.

Come on, Anyone remember the downfalls & shortened lifespan of the laser of playing DVD's on their PS2 ? Anyone have an idea of how playing Blue Ray DVD movie disks on their ps3 will affect its lifespan ? Time will tell.

It's all hype for the "next Gen" evolution and people eat it all up. And besides there are fewer and fewer "exclusive" games now then there used to be so I guess time who will win the "Next Gen" WAR.

Personally I am not gonna fork out that kind of dough to get a little more eye candy.

Once Blue Ray media gets accepted more & the technologie becomes cheaper (disks, players & 1080p tv's) Then they will have a fighting change otherwise it's just another "BETA".

my .02cents

[tribis]

Blue Dragon, the famed Japanese Xbox360 RPG which was just recently released and brought on alot of Japanese onto the 360 is 3 Dual layer dvds large....yeah tell me Blu-ray is not needed. I remember having 80gig drives and saying woah this is huge.

[bob8779]

Blue Ray...... hummm anyone remember BETA vs VHS war. Yes Beta was better in overall quality but VHS was affordable for the masses.

Yes granted Blue Ray's Quality & Capacity is there but how many people are actually gonna spend $699.00 CND for PS3 to get Blue Ray Player AND buy a 50"+ 1080p TV ($5000.00 to $10,000.00 Plasma) to take full advantage of it.

Come on, Anyone remember the downfalls & shortened lifespan of the laser of playing DVD's on their PS2 ? Anyone have an idea of how playing Blue Ray DVD movie disks on their ps3 will affect its lifespan ? Time will tell.

It's all hype for the "next Gen" evolution and people eat it all up. And besides there are fewer and fewer "exclusive" games now then there used to be so I guess time who will win the "Next Gen" WAR.

Personally I am not gonna fork out that kind of dough to get a little more eye candy.

Once Blue Ray media gets accepted more & the technologie becomes cheaper (disks, players & 1080p tv's) Then they will have a fighting change otherwise it's just another "BETA".

my .02cents

I think comparing the blueray with the beta is all wrong. HD is hear to stay and you dont have to pay 10K for one. with sony is putting a blue ray in every ps3 they should be able to put a blue ray player 8 to 10 million homes by the end of next year. that will make the the movie industry want to release blue ray disks plus sony has a hugh library of movies. Blue ray will also be availible in dell notebooks which is a good sign for the format. I have a 42 inch( current price $1500) hdtv and OMG are the movies incredible and you can get a 32 inch lcd hdtv for 700 and by next year it will be under $500.00. now if you are a younger person ya the 360 is prob best for you if you just want it for the games but for us older folks the blueray makes the ps3 and excellent value. and if you are a young person it will be easier to convince good old dad or mom that the ps3 is something the whole family can use it the kids for games and the adults for the movies ( yes i know the 360 has hddvd but it is not bundled with the 360 giving sony an advantage every ps3 will have blue ray) as for durability i have one of the old ps2 the big block things and iv never had a problem with it. i use it as a dvd player in my bedroom now that i have my ps3. as for exclusives ps3 has mgs4, ff13, whisteknight,and heavenly sword( i do hope they port lost planet over in a year or so yes i know im most likely dreaming but it would be nice.) 360 has more exclusives yes but the ps3 has been out 3 weeks.

[diggerct]

Outside of the potentially (and most likely) useless 25+GB of storage capacity Blu-Ray packs it certainly does offer a lot that DVD cannot.

However, when it comes down to it including the Blu-Ray was an amazing marketing decision for the PS3, granted it can get past some of its problems. If the Playstation 2 sold 70 million consoles worldwide in less than six years, imagine if Sony can sell just half that many Blu-Ray players (Playstation 3) in that amount of time, it would emerge as the dominant medium for sure.

Not that it particularly makes a difference, DVD will be the standard for quite some time. Blu-Ray and HD DVD are simply novelties at this point.

[bob8779]

Outside of the potentially (and most likely) useless 25+GB of storage capacity Blu-Ray packs it certainly does offer a lot that DVD cannot.

However, when it comes down to it including the Blu-Ray was an amazing marketing decision for the PS3, granted it can get past some of its problems. If the Playstation 2 sold 70 million consoles worldwide in less than six years, imagine if Sony can sell just half that many Blu-Ray players (Playstation 3) in that amount of time, it would emerge as the dominant medium for sure.

Not that it particularly makes a difference, DVD will be the standard for quite some time. Blu-Ray and HD DVD are simply novelties at this point.

Never underestimate the creativity of game designers. You give them that much more room 50 gigs! I think you will see some interesting games in the future.

[yensed]

Come on, Anyone remember the downfalls & shortened lifespan of the laser of playing DVD's on their PS2 ? Anyone have an idea of how playing Blue Ray DVD movie disks on their ps3 will affect its lifespan ? Time will tell.


I've never heard that before. My PS2 was manufactured in 2002 and I watch movies(DvD's) on it at least once a week and at very least twice a week for gaming.. Maybe I'm just lucky. :-/

[tribis]

Come on, Anyone remember the downfalls & shortened lifespan of the laser of playing DVD's on their PS2 ? Anyone have an idea of how playing Blue Ray DVD movie disks on their ps3 will affect its lifespan ? Time will tell.


That had nothing to do with the fact it played DVDs...pc drives play DVDs :confused: Xbox played DVDs :confused:

The problem was the way the Drive passed information from the laser to the motherboard. The voltages would sometimes be off causing it to go out of focus in a sense. Not only that but the head units are cheap as hell. Trust me Ive opened up enough PS2s to know a little bit.

[kuhnaydeein]

“640K ought to be enough for anybody.” -Bill Gates (1981)

[kj13529]

“640K ought to be enough for anybody.” -Bill Gates (1981)

LOL. Really though, I think that blue ray is a step in the right direction, it allows for more details to be included in games, and room for more in depth game play; hey may as well be optimisitic about it. Plus there is no excuse for slacking off on any facet of a game now!:)

[krash]

There was actually an article linked on digg.com the other day, that can add to the DVD vs Blu-Ray for games debate.

"Speaking on its official forums, a Bizarre spokesperson said: "You won't see different times of day per city because this involves recreating all the textures again (one for day and one for night). Whilst this wasn't a problem for our dev team, it was a problem fitting all this data onto a single DVD.""

http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=169199

[laurent]

I personnally hate swaping discs...

[smes]

Blu Ray player: <$700
PS3: $500

What a deal.

[icedsoul]

“640K ought to be enough for anybody.” -Bill Gates (1981)

Exactly! :-D


with HD gaming its mostly going to be about textures now and hq textures ne a lot of space, so they will hit limit quite soon once they start really developing hq hd.